“Make Web, Not War” aka Can’t We Just Get Along?

Joey provides the details the upcoming ‘Make Web, Not War” event in Toronto and Vancouver.

Make Web, Not War is happening today in Vancouver (June 2, 2009) and next week in Toronto on June 10, 2009. (Let’s not start about disaster that is the web presence, frames, Flashturbation, no deep linking, etc.). Microsoft released the Web Platform Installer, WebPI for short, version 2 includes IIS7, SQL Server, Visual Web Developer, ASP.NET and PHP. That’s right, PHP and the ability to install popular PHP and .NET open-source applications including WordPress, Drupal and more.

Here’s my take, it’s great to see Microsoft embrace web technologies. The web is a mash of technologies from operating systems to application servers to database servers to web servers to development frameworks to AJaX frameworks to CSS frameworks. It’s all about choice. You can mix and match the pieces that make the most sense for you at a moment in time. And now that choice, flexibility and power come to web developers that run Windows operating systems.

Not everyone has the flexibility of choosing each of the layers. When I worked at Rye High, I built applications initial in ColdFusion 6 and Oracle 8i because it was what was available. The addition of FastCGI and PHP to IIS opens the available tools to many developers and IT professionals that run Windows in their corporate environments. The WebPI makes it drop-dead simple to install PHP and Drupal or MediaWiki. Pick the right tool for the users, the tasks, your infrastructure and support. Make informed decisions.

Are there limitations? Definitely, part of the fun is playing in the boundaries and pushing as close to the edge as possible.

Come together right now over me

“The best way to predict the future is to invent it” – Alan Kay

The event is about focusing on the task at hand. Let’s make a better web. Let’s solve problems. By helping developers gain access to the applications and platforms they want is important. Microsoft is starting to understand, again, the power of an ecosystem. Rather than fighting to convert PHP developers to ASP.NET, you can see the empire embrace and enable the tools that are a part of the web.

Further evidence of this acceptance of PHP as a language and a tool of the web can be seen PHP SDK for Windows Azure. The addition of Java in the Azure world.

Toronto –  June 10, 2009

I’ll be talking about the web, open platforms, innovation and karma at the Toronto event on Wednesday, June 10th at the Ted Rogers School of Management (use the entrance at 55 Dundas Street W.) and runs from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m..

It’s a full-day event with presentations by:

• Mano Kulasingam, Digiflare Inc.
• Brendan Sera-Shriar, PHUG.ca / Rich Media Institute
• Stephen Nichols, Softcom
• Yann Larrivée, PHPQuebec

The Toronto event will feature breakfast, keynote, web partner community showcase, another keynote, lunch, breakout sessions, a Windows Server 2008 InstallFest, a web developer technical session and the FTW! competition final showdown. It’s be a very full day.

The registration fee for both the Vancouver and Toronto events is “donate what you want”, with a suggested donation of CAD$10. The money will go to a good cause: PREVnet.ca, the anti-bullying network.

Hope you’ll come out!